Bob Evans Farms (BOBE) stock is up as the company considers a strategic transaction for its restaurant properties.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Bob Evans Farms (BOBE) are higher by 4.92% to $48.37 in pre-market trading on Friday morning, after the company announced on Thursday that it's looking into a "strategic transaction" for its restaurant properties.

The company, which operates a full service restaurant chain, said the transaction could take the form of either a sale-leaseback or an REIT conversion and spin-off.

Bob Evans said there are a number of factors to consider as to which direction it will go including the performance of its business segments, market values for restaurant real estate, interest rates, and U.S. economic conditions.

"We expect to conclude the assessment of alternative paths for our restaurant real estate over the next several months. The ultimate size of any transaction will depend on the factors we have noted, but is expected to range from approximately thirty to sixty percent of currently owned restaurant real estate," Bob Evans CFO Mark Hood said in a statement.

"Either of the forms of a transaction is expected to enable the company to reduce its investment in lower-return assets, and we expect that in structuring a transaction we would seek to maintain our flexibility to pursue a separation of the foods and restaurant segments at some point in the future if advisable at that time," Hood continued.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates BOB EVANS FARMS as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: